Brian Wolfe

Many thanks for the information, stukapilot. Regards Brian

Already too late from what I have read, Paul. We need to remember that the membership is international and includes those of the Islamic faith. Some of the members may be treading unwise ground. It's probably time to pull the plug on this one before it goes any farther down that path. Respectfully submitted. Brian

As a learner to this area of collecting could you please elaborate on why this is a copy? It would be most appreciated. Regards Brian

Hi Tom, I would love to argue this with you if I didn't see your point. Darn! The EK you have posted looks like it has a ribbon from a South Asian country and without checking I would say it looks a lot like the Bahawalpur/Pakistan ribbon, though the orange edges don't ring true, as that would indicate an Indian connection. Possibly some other state that joined with Pakistan? I guess it is all in your point of view. An incorrect ribbon is still an incorrect ribbon. If one knew the recipient (ie. the medal was named) then I could see leaving it alone out of respect. However, we will never know the recipient's name in this case so I see it as an error. The other factor is that collector's, like me, may be more compulsive obsessive types and insist on the ribbons being correct to the medal. In my case I can't stand my medals, in their storage drawers, to be out of alignment. Other's may be more casual and flexible. Then again others may not be as close to the obsessive lunic fringe as some. Where does one get a Napoleonic hat? Cheers Brian

This must be the first time no one had a camera phone with them. Lord knows everytime I screwed up on the job there was someone there taking my photo! I agree with IrishGunner and would add that this could serve to escalate similar acts from the "other side". I trust the head will be returned for burial. Regards Brian

Hello Everyone, I'd like to comment on the question of whether the ribbon should be switched for the correct one or not. I've just started collecting Imperial German and Austrian Empire medals so my opinion is based more on the material I have collected for a few decades now. If the ribbon had any significance or a direct history connected to the recipient such as "Great Grandfather insisted on wearing the medal with this ribbon, even though it was incorrect" then I would say there was some weight to the suggestion to leave it as is. I doubt this is the case and would only be a wild guess at best to suggest this is the case here. We've all seen WWI Victory and BWM with the wrong ribbon, just refer to eBay. Most would agree that we would not consider leaving it as found. The only difference between this ribbon and the ribbon pictured below is that yours may be a bit more official, other than that I see them both in the same light. I would replace the ribbon you have with the correct one but keep this one in case you find the correct medal someday or as a part of the history of this particular medal albeit a ribbon that would not have been associated with the medal normally. May the Medal Gods forgove my blasphemy for the following image. Regards Brian

Very nice Home Service Helmet, Stuart. Great photo too by the way. Was that with the new camera? Regards Brian

Hi Mervyn, Yes, I think you are correct,I scanned through the posts and did not find one, so I posted mine. If you locate your silver one please do post it. Regards Brian

Yes, now you mention it, it could be an "M" but I don't think an ivi. I don't have a lot of experience and have as yet to see one with the "W" and one with an "M" to be able to tell. Regards Brian

Hello Erin and welcome. There's nothing like a challenge so post away. I look forward to seeing what you have to be identified. Regards brian

Hello Everyone, I've posted this medal with the group it is with in the German section but I thought that I'd post the medal itself here. Perhaps other members have the 18 and 8 year awards that they could add to round out this post. Polizei 25 Year Long Service Award (Polizei Dienstauszeichenungen 25) Adolf Hitler instituted 3 classes of Police Long Service Awards in 1938 to recognize police personnel for their loyal service to the Third Reich and the Fuhrer. The medal featured here is the 1st class, for 25 years of service, struck from a nickel alloy and finished in a gold fired gilt. The reverse reads "FUR TREUE DIENSTE IN DER POLIZEI" (For Loyal Service in the Police). The second class, for 18 years of service, is similar to the 1st class but is in silver. The 3rd class, for 8 years service, is in bronze from what I have read but I've seen these offered as struck from nickel alloy and finished with a nickel plating. Perhaps someone with more knowledge in this field can expand on this. This is one of my favourite Thrid Reich medals, though I don't actually collect in that time frame. Regards Brian

Here is a closer view of the ring. Thanks for reading my post and looking at my newest addition. Regards Brian

Darn! I knew I would post the reverse first as it was in the wrong order when I sized the photos. Here is the obverse (if I didn't get then switched again). :blush:

Hello Everyone, Yesterday was my birthday, one seems to come along every year about this time, and because my wife and I were both working (Friday) we decided to go gift shopping today. There is an antiques mall about an hour's drive from here that we only visit about once a year as it is not in the direction we usually find ourselves heading. While there we spotted a 1914 Iron Cross in one of the displays. I don't know much about the different manufacturers but I noticed that everything was as it should be and the ring was marked with a "W". So for my birthday my dear wife purchased the Iron Cross for me. This was a banner year for me as we just celebrated our wedding anniversary and she purchased a very nice Imperial group as my gift. It was posted last week. My wife has quite the sense of humour and while we were driving back home she said, "That was quite the birthday gift for a wife to buy her husband...an old Nazi medal". I turned my head to correct her and noticed her grin as she said, "Got ya!" Anyway enough of the reminiscencing. The EK has the usual ferrous metal (magnetic) core and is made of three pieces. The core is loose and can be moved around very slightly so it is not a one piece construction. I believe the ribbon is an original. I hope you like it. Regards Brian

Hello Peter, Everytime I look through your posts I come away more in awe than the time before. An amazing collection well displayed and your photography is beyond reproach. Thanks once more for posting these treasures for us to view. Regards Brian

Hi Mike, What an interesting document and probably quite hard to come by. Sorry, I can't help with your question but thanks for posting this amazing piece of history. Regards Brian

Thanks Heiko, I'm still in shock to have received the group, and you're correct, there's absolutley no problem with the woman who bought it. Regards Brian

This is the reverse of the group. Notice the 12 year Long Service on the left side facing you, it was added sometime after the group was mounted. Even if this group is not genuine it means a lot to me and will stay as it is forever. Regards Brian Oh yes, the Iron Cross 2nd class was mounted up with the reverse showing. I would think that if this was a fake the person doing the work would have at least mounted the EK the right way around. Is it common for groups to have the EK mounted in this fashion?

Hello Everyone, This group arrived yesterday and was an anniversary gift from my wife (I got her nothing ). Quick story. Last year we were going to purchase an item that we could both use and since it was expensive we (she) decided we would only purchase that item and not shop for one another. That's all well and fine but me being me forgot all about the arrangement AND the anniversary until the last couple of days. I went out an purchased a really nice opal necklace. For once my poor memory didn't get me into too much hot water. So, this year the deal was we would purchase a new camera and she would purchase something for me BUT I was NOT to buy for her. This is our 12th Anniversary and the Wurttemburg group below was my gift from my wife. It's interesting that she picked the gift for a reason (chaeck the last medal). I would like your opinion of the group, and never mind that it was a gift. Is this an authentic group or made up to fool a buyer? The Wurttemburg Long Service Medal at the end (remember the mention about a reason for my wife picking this particular group) looks to have been added at a later date than the other medals. It looks like a good group to me but I would like your opinions. Regards Brian

Hello Stephen, When you fellows on the East Coast decide to collect you don't fool around! What an exceptional collection thanks for sharing it with us. Regards Brian

Hello Rod, This is indeed an interesting group. I do like the Special Constabulary LSGC Medal within a group or even as part of a pair. I've never seen a father/son group mounted together before. It is very difficult to say what which police force they served in, is the regiment's name not impressed on the edge of the BWM? Regards Brian

Hi Simon, Thanks for posting this, I really like this sort of equipment including the RAF (also RCAF)escape axe, which I am still looking for. Thanks as well to Mervyn as I missed this post and only "caught it" when reading his inspired post this afternoon. I think the claim that this was proof against 20,000 volts is a bit of a dream. We used to think that wooden ladders were proof against electrocution and that has been proven wrong (not by me personaly). Considering the amount of water, sweat and other conductors that would be in and around a fire site I think there would be a good chance of the current running along the handle to the firefighter. Still a great piece of equipment. Thanks again for sharing it. Regards Brian

A fantastic group Mervyn, thanks for posting it. Regards Brian

Hi Gary, This forum never ceases to amaze me. For some reason I missed your inital posts so this is the fist Ive seen them. What a great collection! Thanks for posting them. Regards Brian

Hi Rod, Regarding down loading pictures (I'm no pro), are you resizing the photos before you try to post? I use Photoshop but there are other programs that do this. If your photo is too large the forum will reject it. I have had this problem when I forget to size the photo down to 25% (on Photoshop) and go to 50% as I would for an email using Windows Mail or Hot Mail as examples. I hope someone reading your post can help. There is another section on the forum where you can ask these questions so if no one in the know responds through this post try asking the question in the areas set aside for these problems. Good luck. Regards Brian